again, who is of infirm purposes, even if possessed of intelligence and learning, and even if conversant with means, cannot long act with success. A man of wicked heart and possessed of no learning may set his hand to work but he fails to ascertain what the results will be of his work. A king should never repose trust on a minister that is not devoted to him. He should, therefore, never disclose his counsels to a minister that is not devoted to him. Such a wicked minister, combining with the other ministers of the king, may ruin his master, like a fire consuming a tree by entering its entrails through the holes in its body with the aid of the wind. Giving way to wrath, a master may one day pull down a servant from his office or reprove him, from rage, in harsh words, and restore him to power again. None but a servant devoted to the master can bear and forgive such treatment. Ministers also become sometime highly offended with their royal masters. That one, however, amongst them, who subdues his wrath from desire of doing good to his master,--that person who is a sharer with the king of his weal and woe,--should be consulted by the king in all his affairs. A person who is of crooked heart, even if he be devoted to his master and possessed of wisdom and adorned with numerous virtues, should never be consulted by the king. One who is allied with foes and who does not regard the interests of the king's subjects, should be known as an enemy. The king should never consult with him. One who is possessed of no learning, who is not pure, who is stained with pride, who pays court to the king's enemies, who indulges in brag, who is unfriendly, wrathful, and covetous should not be consulted by the king. One who is a stranger, even if he be devoted to the king and possessed of great learning, may be honoured by the king and gratified with assignment of the means of sustenance, but the king should never consult him in his affairs. A person whose sire was unjustly banished by royal edict should not be consulted by the king even if the king may have subsequently bestowed honours upon him and assigned to him the means of sustenance. A well-wisher whose property was once confiscated for a slight transgression, even if he be possessed of every accomplishment should not still be consulted by the king. A person possessed of wisdom, intelligence, and learning, who is born within the kingdom, who is pure and righteous in all his acts, deserves to be consulted by the king. One who is endued with knowledge and wisdom, who is acquainted with the dispositions of his friends and foes, who is such a friend of the king as to be his second self, deserves to be consulted. One who is truthful in speech and modest and mild and who is a hereditary servant of the king, deserves to be consulted. One who is contented and honoured, who is truthful and dignified, who hates wickedness and wicked men, who is conversant with policy and the requirements of time, and who is courageous, deserves to be consulted by the king. One who is competent to win over all men by conciliation should be consulted, O monarch, by the king that is desirous of ruling according to the dictates of the science of chastisement. One upon whom the inhabitants of both the capital and the provinces repose confidence for his righteous conduct, who is competent to fight and conversant with the rules of policy, deserves to be consulted by the king. Therefore, men possessed of such qualities, men conversant with the dispositions of all and desirous of achieving high acts, should be honoured by the king and made his ministers. Their number also should not be less than three.[246] Ministers should be employed in observing the laches of their masters, of themselves, of the subjects, and of the foes of their master. The kingdom has its root in the counsels of policy that flow from ministers, and its growth proceeds from the same source. Ministers should act in such a way that the enemies of their master may not be able to detect his laches. On the other hand, when their laches become visible, they should then be assailed. Like the tortoise protecting its limbs by withdrawing them within its shell, ministers should protect their own counsels. They should, even thus, conceal their own laches. Those ministers of a kingdom that succeed in concealing their counsels are said to be possessed of wisdom. Counsels constitute the armour of a king, and the limbs of his subjects and officers. A kingdom is said to have its roots in spies and secret agents, and its strength is said to lie in counsels of policy. If masters and ministers follow each other for deriving support from each other, subduing pride and wrath, and vanity and envy, they may then both become happy. A king should also consult with such ministers as are free from the five kinds of deceit. Ascertaining well, in the first instance, the different opinions of the three amongst them whom he has consulted, the king should, for subsequent deliberation, repair to his preceptor for informing him of those opinions and his own. His preceptor should be a Brahmana well versed in all matters of virtue, profit, and pleasure. Repairing, for such subsequent deliberation, to him, the king should, with collected mind, ask his opinion. When a decision is arrived at after deliberation with him, the king should then, without attachment, carry it out into practice. They that are conversant with the conclusions of the science of consultation say that kings should always hold consultation in this way. Having settled counsels in this way, they should then be reduced to practice, for then they will be able to win over all the subjects. There should be no dwarfs, no humpbacked persons, no one of an emaciated constitution, no one who is lame or blind, no one who is an idiot, no woman, and no eunuch, at the spot where the king holds his consultations. Nothing should move there before or behind, above or below, or in transverse directions. Getting up on a boat, or repairing to an open space destitute of grass or grassy bushes and whence the surrounding land may be clearly seen, the king should hold consultations at the proper time, avoiding faults of speech and gestures."'"
SECTION LXXXIV "'Bhishma said, "In this connection, O Yudhishthira, the old account of a conversation between Vrihaspati and Sakra is cited.
"'"Sakra said, 'What is that one act, O regenerate one, by accomplishing which with care, a person may become the object of regard with all creatures and acquire great celebrity?'
"'"Vrihaspati said, 'Agreeableness of speech, O Sakra, is the one thing by practising which a person may become an object of regard with all creatures and acquire great celebrity. This is the one thing, O Sakra, which gives happiness to all. By practising it, one may always obtain the love of all creatures. The person who does not speak a word and whose face is always furrowed with frowns, becomes an object of hatred with all creatures. Abstention from agreeable speeches makes him so. That person who, upon beholding others, addresses them first and does so with smiles succeeds in making everyone gratified with him. Even gifts, if not made with agreeable speeches, do not delight the recipients, like rice without curry. If even the possessions of men, O Sakra, be taken away with sweet speeches, such sweetness of behaviour succeeds in reconciling the robbed. A king, therefore, that is desirous of even inflicting chastisement should utter sweet words. Sweetness of speech never fails of its purpose, while, at the same time it never pains any heart. A person of good acts and good, agreeable, and sweet speeches, has no equal.'"
"'Bhishma continued, "Thus addressed by his priest, Sakra began to act according to those instructions. Do thou also, O son of Kunti, practise this virtue."'"
SECTION LXXXV "'Yudhishthira said, "O foremost of kings, what is that method by which a king ruling his subjects may, in consequence of it, obtain great blessedness and eternal fame?"
"'Bhishma said, "A king of cleansed soul and attentive to the duty of protecting his subjects earns merit and fame, both here and hereafter, by conducting himself righteously."
"'Yudhishthira said, "With whom should the king behave in what way? Asked by me, O thou of great wisdom, it behoveth thee to tell me everything duly. Those virtues of which thou hast already spoken with respect to a person, cannot, it is my belief, be found to exist in any single individual."
"'Bhishma said, "Thou art endued with great intelligence, O Yudhishthira! It is even so as thou sayest. The person is very rare who is possessed of all those good qualities. To be brief, conduct like this (viz., the presence of all the virtues spoken of), is very difficult to be met with even upon careful search. I shall, however, tell thee what kinds of ministers should be appointed by thee. Four Brahmanas, learned in the Vedas, possessed of a sense of dignity, belonging to the Snataka order, and of pure behaviour, and eight Kshatriyas, all of whom should be possessed of physical strength and capable of wielding weapons, and one and twenty Vaisyas, all of whom should be possessed of wealth, and three Sudras, every one of whom should be humble and of pure conduct and devoted to his daily duties, and one man of the Suta caste, possessed of a knowledge of the Puranas and the eight cardinal virtues, should be thy ministers. Every one of them should be fifty years of age, possessed of a sense of dignity, free from envy, conversant with the Srutis and the Smritis, humble, impartial, competent to readily decide in the midst of disputants urging different courses of action, free from covetousness, and from the seven dreadful vices called Vyasanas. The king should consult with those eight ministers and hold the lead among them. He should then publish in his kingdom, for the information of his subjects, the results of such deliberation. Thou shouldst always, adopting such a conduct, watch over thy people. Thou shouldst never confiscate what is deposited with thee or appropriate as thine the thing about whose ownership two persons may dispute. Conduct such as this would spoil the administration of justice. If the administration of justice be thus injured, sin will afflict thee, and afflict thy kingdom as well, and inspire thy people with fear as little birds at the sight of the hawk. Thy kingdom will then melt away like a boat wrecked on the sea. If a king governs his subjects with unrighteousness, fear takes possession of his heart and the door of heaven is closed against him. A kingdom, O bull among men, has its root in righteousness. That minister, or king's son, who acts unrighteously, occupying the seat of justice, and those officers who having accepted the charge of affairs, act unjustly, moved by self-interest, all sink in hell along with the king himself. Those helpless men who are oppressed by the powerful and who indulge on that account in piteous and copious lamentations, have their protector in the king. In cases of dispute between two parties the decision should be based upon the evidence of witnesses. If one of the disputants has no witnesses and is helpless, the king should give the case his best consideration. The king should cause chastisement to be meted out to offenders according to the measure of their offences. They that are wealthy should be punished with fines and confiscations; they that are poor, with loss of liberty. Those that are of very wicked conduct should be chastised by the king with even corporal inflictions. The king should cherish all good men with agreeable speeches and gifts of wealth. He who seeks to compass the death of the king should be punished with death to be effected by diverse means. The same should be the punishment of one who becomes guilty of arson or theft or such co-habitation with women as may lead to a confusion of castes. A king, O monarch, who inflicts punishments duly and conformably to the dictates of the science of chastisement, incurs no sin by the act. On the other hand, he earns merit that is eternal. That foolish king who inflicts punishments capriciously, earns infamy here and sinks into hell hereafter. One should not be punished for the fault of another. Reflecting well upon the (criminal) code, a person should be convicted or acquitted. A king should never slay an envoy under any circumstances. That king who slays an envoy sinks into hell with all his ministers. That king observant of Kshatriya practices who slays an envoy that faithfully utters the message with which he is charged, causes the manes of his deceased ancestors to be stained with the sin of killing a foetus. An envoy should possess these seven accomplishments, viz., he should be high-born, of a good family, eloquent, clever, sweet-speeched, faithful in delivering the message with which he is charged, and endued with a good memory. The aid-de-camp of the king that protects his person should be endued with similar qualities. The officer also that guards his capital or citadel should possess the same accomplishments. The king's minister should be conversant with the conclusions of the scriptures and competent in directing wars and making treaties. He should, further, be intelligent, possessed of courage, modest, and capable of keeping secrets. He should also be of high birth endued with strength of mind, and pure in conduct. If possessed of these qualities, he should be regarded worthy. The commander of the king's forces should be possessed of similar accomplishments. He should also be conversant with the different kinds of battle array and with the uses of engines and weapons. He should be able to bear exposure to rain, cold, heat, and wind, and watchful of the laches of foes. The king, O monarch, should be able to lull his foes into a sense of security. He should not, however, himself trust anyone. The reposing of confidence on even his own son is not to be approved of. I have now, O sinless one, declared to thee what the conclusions of the scriptures are. Refusal to trust anyone has been said to be one of the highest mysteries of king-craft."'"
SECTION LXXXVI "'Yudhishthira said, "What should be the kind of city within which the king should himself dwell? Should he select one already made or should he cause one to be especially constructed? Tell me this O grandsire!"
"'Bhishma said, "It is proper, O Bharata, to enquire about the conduct that should be followed and the defences that should be adopted with respect to the city in which, O son of Kunti, a king should reside. I shall, therefore, discourse to thee on the subject, referring especially to the defences of citadels. Having listened to me, thou shouldst make the arrangements required and conduct thyself attentively as directed. Keeping his eye on the six different kinds of citadels, the king should build his cities containing every kind of affluence and every other article of use in abundance. Those six varieties are water-citadels, earth-citadels, hill-citadels, human-citadels, mud-citadels, and forest-citadels.[247] The king, with his ministers and the army thoroughly loyal to him, should reside in that city which is defended by a citadel which contains an abundant stock of rice and weapons,--which is protected with impenetrable walls and a trench, which teems with elephants and steeds and cars, which is inhabited by men possessed of learning and versed in the mechanical arts, where provisions of every kind have been well stored, whose population is virtuous in conduct and clever in business and consists of strong and energetic men and animals, which is adorned with many open squares and rows of shops, where the behaviour of all persons is righteous, where peace prevails, where no danger exists, which blazes with beauty and resounds with music and songs, where the houses are all spacious, where the residents number among them many brave and wealthy individuals, which echoes with the chant of Vedic hymns, where festivities and rejoicings frequently take place, and where the deities are always worshipped.[248] Residing there, the king should be employed in filling his treasury, increasing his forces, enhancing the number of his friends, and establishing courts of justice. He should check all abuses and evils in both his cities and his provinces. He should be employed in collecting provisions of every kind and in filling his arsenals with care. He should also increase his stores of rice and other grain, and strengthen his counsels (with wisdom). He should further, enhance his stores of fuel, iron, chaff, charcoal, timber, horns, bones, bamboos, marrow, oils and ghee, fat, honey, medicines, flax, resinous exudations, rice, weapons, shafts, leather catgut (for bow-strings), caries, and strings and cords made of munja grass and other plants and creepers. He should also increase the number of tanks and wells containing large quantities of water, and should protect all juicy trees.[249] He should entertain with honour and attention preceptors (of different sciences), Ritwijas, and priests, mighty bowmen, persons skilled in architecture, astronomers and astrologers, and physicians, as also all men possessed of wisdom and intelligence and self-restraint and cleverness and courage and learning and high birth and energy of mind, and capable of close application to all kinds of work. The king should honour the righteous and chastise the unrighteous. He should, acting with resolution, set the several orders to their respective duties. Ascertaining properly, by means of spies, the outward behaviour and the state of mind of the inhabitants of his city and provinces, he should adopt those measures that may be required. The king should himself supervise his spies and counsels, his treasury, and the agencies for inflicting chastisements. Upon these everything may be said to depend. With spies constituting his sight, the king should ascertain all the acts and intentions of his foes, friends, and neutrals. He should then, with heedfulness, devise his own measures, honouring those that are loyal to him and punishing those that are hostile. The king should always adore the gods in sacrifices and make gifts without giving pain to anybody. He should protect his subjects, never doing anything that may obstruct or thwart righteousness. He should always maintain and protect the helpless, the masterless, and the old, and women that are widows. The king should always honour the ascetics and make unto them gifts, at proper seasons of cloths and vessels and food. The king should, with attentive care, inform the ascetics (within his dominions) of the state of his own self, of all his measures, and of the kingdom, and should always behave with humility in their presence. When he sees ascetics of high birth and great learning that have abandoned all earthly objects, he should honour them with gifts of beds and seats and food. Whatever the nature of the distress into which he may fall, he should confide in an ascetic. The very robbers repose confidence upon persons of that character. The king should place his wealth in charge of an ascetic and should take wisdom from him. He should not, however, always wait upon them or worship them on all occasions.[250] From among those residing in his own kingdom, he should select one for friendship. Similarly, he should select another from among those that reside in the kingdom of his foe. He should select a third from among those residing in the forests, and a fourth from among those dwelling in the kingdoms paying tribute to him. He should show hospitality towards and bestow honours upon them and assign them the means of sustenance. He should behave towards the ascetics dwelling in the kingdoms of foes and in the forests in the same way as towards those that reside in his own kingdom. Engaged in penances and of rigid vows they would, if calamity overtakes the king and if he solicits protection, grant him what he wants. I have now told thee in brief the indications of the city in which the king should reside."'"
SECTION LXXXVII "'Yudhishthira said, "How, O king, may a kingdom be consolidated, and how should it be protected? I desire to know this. Tell me all this, O bull of Bharata's race!"
"'Bhishma said, "Listen to me with concentrated attention. I shall tell thee how a kingdom may be consolidated, and how also it may be protected. A headman should be selected for each village. Over ten villages (or ten headmen) there should be one superintendent. Over two such superintendents there should be one officer (having the control, therefore, of twenty villages). Above the latter should be appointed persons under each of whom should be a century of villages; and above the last kind of officers, should be appointed men each of whom should have a thousand villages under his control. The headman should ascertain the characteristics of every person in the village and all the faults also that need correction. He should report everything to the officer (who is above him and is) in charge of ten villages. The latter, again, should report the same to the officer (who is above him and is) in charge of twenty villages. The latter, in his turn, should report the conduct of all the persons within his dominion to the officer (who is above him and is) in charge of a hundred villages. The village headman should have control over all the produce and the possessions of the village. Every headman should contribute his share for maintaining the lord of ten villages, and the latter should do the same for supporting the lord of twenty villages. The lord of a hundred villages should receive every honour from the king and should have for his support a large village, O chief of the Bharatas, populous and teeming with wealth. Such a village, so assigned to a lord of hundred villages, should be, however, within the control of the lord of a thousand villages. That high officer, again, viz., the lord of a thousand villages, should have a minor town for his support. He should enjoy the grain and gold and other possessions derivable from it. He should perform all the duties of its wars and other internal affairs pertaining to it. Some virtuous minister, with wrathfulness should exercise supervision over the administration affairs and mutual relations of those officers. In every town, again, there should be an officer for attending to every matter relating to his jurisdiction. Like some planet of dreadful form moving above all the asterisms below, the officer (with plenary powers) mentioned last should move and act above all the officers subordinate to him. Such an officer should ascertain the conduct of those under him through his spies. Such high officers should protect the people from all persons of murderous disposition, all men of wicked deeds, all who rob other people of their wealth, and all who are full of deceit, and all of whom are regarded to be possessed by the devil. Taking note of the sales and the purchases, the state of the roads, the food and dress, and the stocks and profits of those that are engaged in trade, the king should levy taxes on them. Ascertaining on all occasions the extent of the manufactures, the receipts and expenses of those that are engaged in them, and the state of the arts, the king should levy taxes upon the artisans in respect of the arts they follow. The king, O Yudhishthira, may take high taxes, but he should never levy such taxes as would emasculate his people. No tax should be levied without ascertaining the outturn and the amount of labour that has been necessary to produce it. Nobody would work or seek for outturns without sufficient cause.[251] The king should, after reflection, levy taxes in such a way that he and the person who labours to produce the article taxed may both share the value. The king should not, by his thirst, destroy his own foundations as also those of others. He should always avoid those acts in consequence of which he may become an object of hatred to his people. Indeed, by acting in this way he may succeed in winning popularity. The subjects hate that king who earns a notoriety for voraciousness of appetite (in the matter of taxes and imposts). Whence can a king who becomes an object of hatred have prosperity? Such a king can never acquire what is for his good. A king who is possessed of sound intelligence should milk his kingdom after the analogy of (men acting in the matter of) calves. If the calf be permitted to suck, it grows strong, O Bharata, and bears heavy burthens. If, on the other hand, O Yudhishthira, the cow be milked too much, the calf becomes lean and fails to do much service to the owner. Similarly, if the kingdom be drained much, the subjects fail to achieve any act that is great. That king who protects his kingdom himself and shows favour to his subjects (in the matter of taxes and imposts) and supports himself upon what is easily obtained, succeeds in earning many grand results. Does not the king then obtain wealth sufficient for enabling him to cope with his wants?[252] The entire kingdom, in that case, becomes to him his treasury, while that which is his treasury becomes his bed chamber. If the inhabitants of the cities and the provinces be poor, the king should, whether they depend upon him immediately or mediately, show them compassion to the best of his power. Chastising all robbers that infest the outskirts, the king should protect the people of his villages and make them happy. The subjects, in the case, becoming sharers of the king's weal and woe, feel exceedingly gratified with him. Thinking, in the first instance, of collecting wealth, the king should repair to the chief centres of his kingdom one after another and endeavour to inspire his people with fright. He should say unto them, 'Here, calamity threatens us. A great danger has arisen in consequence of the acts of the foe. There is every reason, however, to hope that the danger will pass away, for the enemy, like a bamboo that has flowered, will very soon meet with destruction. Many foes of mine, having risen up and combined with a large number of robbers, desire to put our kingdom into difficulties, for meeting with destruction themselves. In view of this great calamity fraught with dreadful danger, I solicit your wealth for devising the means of your protection. When the danger passes away, I will give you what I now take. Our foes, however, will not give back what they (if unopposed) will take from you by force. On the other hand (if unopposed), they will even slay all your relatives beginning with your very spouses. You certainly desire wealth for the sake of your children and wives. I am glad at your prosperity, and I beseech you as I would my own children. I shall take from you what it may be within your power to give me. I do not wish to give pain to any one. In seasons of calamity, you should, like strong bulls, bear such burthens. In seasons of distress, wealth should not be so dear to you.' A king conversant with the considerations relating to Time should, with such agreeable, sweet, and complimentary words, send his agents and collect imposts from his people. Pointing out to them the necessity of repairing his fortifications and of defraying the expenses of his establishment and other heads, inspiring them with the fear of foreign invasion, and impressing them with the necessity that exists for protecting them and enabling them to ensure the means of living in peace, the king should levy imposts upon the Vaisyas of his realm. If the king disregards the Vaisyas, they become lost to him, and abandoning his dominions remove themselves to the woods. The king should, therefore, behave with leniency towards them. The king, O son of Pritha, should always conciliate and protect the Vaisyas, adopt measures for inspiring them with a sense of security and for ensuring them in the enjoyment of what they possess, and always do what is agreeable to them. The king, O Bharata, should always act in such a way towards the Vaisyas that their productive powers may be enhanced. The Vaisyas increase the strength of a kingdom, improve its agriculture, and develop its trade. A wise king, therefore, should always gratify them. Acting with heedfulness and leniency, he should levy mild imposts upon them. It is always easy to behave with goodness towards the Vaisyas. There is nothing productive of greater good to a kingdom, O Yudhishthira, then the adoption of such behaviour towards the Vaisyas of the realm."'"
SECTION LXXXVIII "'Yudhishthira said: "Tell me, O grandsire, how should the king behave if, notwithstanding his great wealth, he desires for more."
"'Bhishma said, "A king, desirous of earning religious merit, should devote himself to the good of his subjects and protect them according to considerations of place and time and to the best of his intelligence and power. He should, in his dominions, adopt all such measures as would in his estimation secure their good as also his own. A king should milk his kingdom like a bee gathering honey from plants.[253] He should act like the keeper of a cow who draws milk from her without boring her udders and without starving the calf. The king should (in the matter of taxes) act like the leech drawing blood mildly. He should conduct himself towards his subjects like a tigress in the matter of carrying her cubs, touching them with her teeth but never piercing them therewith. He should behave like a mouse which though possessed of sharp and pointed teeth still cuts the feet of sleeping animals in such a manner that they do not at all become conscious of it. A little by little should be taken from a growing subject and by this means should he be shorn. The demand should then be increased gradually till what is taken assumes a fair proportion. The king should enhance the burthens of his subjects gradually like a person gradually increasing the burthens of a young bullock. Acting with care and mildness, he should at last put the reins on them. If the reins are thus put, they would not become intractable. Indeed, adequate measures should be employed for making them obedient. Mere entreaties to reduce them to subjection would not do. It is impossible to behave equally towards all men. Conciliating those that are foremost, the common people should be reduced to obedience. Producing disunion (through the agency of their leaders) among the common people who are to bear the burthens, the king should himself come forward to conciliate them and then enjoy in happiness what he will succeed in drawing from them. The king should never impose taxes unseasonably and on persons unable to bear them. He should impose them gradually and with conciliation, in proper season and according to due forms. These contrivances that I declare unto thee are legitimate means of king-craft. They are not reckoned as methods fraught with deceit. One who seeks to govern steeds by improper methods only makes them furious. Drinking-shops, public women, pimps, actors, gamblers and keepers of gaining houses, and other persons of this kind, who are sources of disorder to the state, should all be checked. Residing within the realm, these afflict and injure the better classes of the subjects.